Situation in Russia keeps getting worse. Censorship is in full swing and all but the most fearless, are using metaphors and question marks to express their opinions on Facebook. Media in Russia is not under attack, it is getting crushed. The whole thing looks scary. Couple of interesting things: stories about the beauty of American democracy are once again seen as interesting and enchanting, while Russians are trying to figure out if Barack Obama has the balls (translated verbatim) to stand up to Putin in some way - not necessarily militarily - but with economic sanctions, which are seen as a very potent tool to show Putin what a big mistake he made by invading Crimea. In addition, Putin may have made another big mistake by not coordinating his imperial desires with China, while the abundance of oil and gas obtained through fracking is allowing US and Western Europe to attempt to take a route that does not require stopping at the gas station, aka Russia, leaving it alone with no allies in the East or in the West. At the same time, regular Russians appear overjoyed engulfed in a nationalistic fervor that gushes during that brief period when a country seems to expand its boundaries unabated. In the meantime, residents of Crimea, having survived the initial shock of being now a part of a wealthy neighbor - Russia - are learning that not all is as was advertised: pensions for the elderly are not bigger than before, prices in stores fluctuate wildly, law and order is limited. Russia, its not a country, its a punishment.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 05:28:49 +0000
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